legal protection and right to environmental …...3 law on free access to information of public...
TRANSCRIPT
Eleventh meeting of the Task Force on Access
to Justice under the auspices of the Aarhus
Convention
Geneva, 27-28 February 2018
Legal Protection and Right to
Environmental Information in the
Republic of Serbia
Gordana Petkovic
HU
MA
N R
IGH
TS
, EN
VIR
ON
ME
NT
AN
DA
CC
ES
S T
O
JU
ST
ICE
PRINCIPLES
Human rights
Equality
Healthy
environment
Public
Information of public importance
Environmental information
o Right to healthy environment
o Right to active and passive access
to environmental information
o Right belongs to everybody under
equal conditions
o Assistance to the parties
Legal Protection
Justified public interest
to know
Health Environment
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Law on Ratification Aarhus
Convention (”Official Gazette of
RS- International Treaties”, No.
38/09)
Law on Ratification on
Protocol on Pollutant Release
and Transfer Register to the
Aarhus Convention ”Official
Gazette of RS- International
Treaties”, No. 8/11)
GMO Amendment to the
Aarhus Convention
(Kazahstan, 2005)
Key agreements Key agreements
STRATEGIC AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
No
.Basic acts Published
“Official Gazette”
1
2
Constitution
Strategy for the implementation of the Aarhus
Convention and related Action Plan
No. 98/06
No. 103/11
3 Law on Free Access to Information of Public
Importance
No.120/04, 54/07, 104/09,
36/10
4
5
Law on Environmental Protection
Law on General Administrative Procedure
No. 135/04, 36/09, 88/10,
14/16
No. 18/16
6 Law on Administrative Disputes No. 111/09
7 Law on State Administration No. 79/05, 101/07, 95/10
and 99/14
8 Law on Data Secrecy No. 104/09
9 Law on Protection of Personal Data No. 97/08, 104/09, 68/12
10 Law on Offences No. 101/05, 116/08, 111/09
STRATEGIC AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
No Other laws Published “Official Gazette”
BASIC ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
Law on Environmental Protection
Law on Environmental Impact Assessment
Law on Strategic Environmental Assessment
Law on Integrated Environmental Pollution
Prevention and Control
Law on Waste Management
Law on Nature Protection
Law on Chemicals
Law on Biocidal Products
Law on Air Protection
No. 135/04, 36/09, 88/10, 14/16
No. 135/04, 36/09
No. 135/04, 88/10
No. 135/04 and 25/15
No. 36/09, 88/10,14/16
No. 36/09, 88/10, 91/10, 14/16
No. 36/09, 88/10, 92/11,
93/12,25/15
No. 36/09, 88/10, 92/11, 25/15
No. 36/09, 10/13
INS
TIT
UT
ION
AL
FR
AM
EW
OR
K
APPLICANT
Environmental information
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE
Ministry of Environmental Protection,
Autonomous Province and Local self
government
Commissioner for Access to Public
Information and Personal Data
Protection
Aarhus Centers
Bar Association
ADMINISTRATIVE DISPUTES
Administrative Court
PROCEDURE OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Request for access to environmental
information
Commissioner decision is binding, final and
enforceable
Decion on rejection or
administrative scilence
COMPLAINT TO
COMMISSIONERDECISION
ADOPTION
REMEDY
ADMINSITRATIVE
COURT
Consideration
o Notification
o Examine a
document
o Issuing copy of
documents
o Submmition of
documents
s
REFUSAL TERMINATION
SUBMITTED REQUESTS TO THE MINISTRY
2014 2015
Associations
(126)
Citizens (19)
Media (8)
Others (17)
REQUEST
DENIED (12)
COMPLAINT
LODGED (41)
2016
Associations
(57)
Citizens (11)
Media (4)
COMPLAINT
LODGED (16)
Associations
(80)
Citizens (10)
Media (4)
COMPLAINT
LODGED (26)
98.1
4%
1.86%
2014
Total number of
complaints 3929
Complaints regarding
environmental protection
73
97.91%
2.09%
2015
Total number of
complaints 3821
Complaints regarding
environmental
protection 80
COMPLAINTS - STATISTIC DATA
96.54%
3.47%
2016
Total number of
complaints 3474
Complaints regarding
environmental
protection 113
MANUAL
on the Right of Access to Justice in Matters related to
Environmental Protection in Administrative
Procedures and Administrative Disputes
ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROCEEDINGS COSTS
Access to a document
containing requested
environmental
information is free of
charge.
Administrative costsProceedings before the
Commissioner is free of
charge
Court procedure shall be conducted without delay
and at the lowest possible cost for the parties
and other participants in the procedure
PRACTICES AND EXPERIENCES
Frequent reasons for refusal the requested information
are:
• partially denies the right of access to environmental
information and partially acts upon a request
• administrative silence
• data secrecy
CHALANGES
The authorities do not
meet the deadlines for
answering requests for
information
Understaffing in the
competent bodies
Request for documents
after the period during
which they had to be
kept has expired.
Confidentiality of
commercial and
industrial information
CONCLUSIONS
Serbia has established legal and institutional
framework on the implementation of third pillar of Arhus
convention regarding the access to information
Raising knowledge of environmental informationand legislation among public authorities, stakeholders,judiciary
Lack of specialized environmental units withinjudiciary
Close cooperation between public authorities,
Commissioner and Administrative Court
Trained respective structures of state authorities
(competent authorities, public, judges)
THANK YOU
Ministry of Environmental
Protection of the Republic of
Serbia
Gordana Petkovic, L.L.M